112515 - Meeting in the Middle
CGG RIGHT NOW opened memo on board LOPAP. Memo is now Secret by CGG -- CURRENT galvinizedGlobalization CGG froggy leaps his way to his room on a hunch, could he be /here/, maybe? -- CURRENT miloreySprite CMS RIGHT NOW responded to memo. CMS: The sssprite isss not. However, you feel a presssence looming behind you. -- CURRENT galvinizedGlobalization CGG hops in place, doing a 180 in midair to face this MYSTERIOUS ENTITY. -- CGG: Ah H A H! CMS: MiloreySprite still has no arms, due to the snake-like nature. CMS: "I would be folding my armsss if I had them." CGG: I'm. Sorry for that, really. CMS: "Part of me isss incredibly insssulted, and the other part doesssn't really care becaussse it hasss no idea what armsss do or feel like. SSSo... I'm only half asss angry asss I could be. What do you W A N T ?" CGG: Frankly? CGG: Some A N S W E R S. CMS: "Well, thisss isssn't your room anymore. I wasss the P R I M A R Y Milo, ssso you're sssome weird game conssstruct represssentation of an extra life. My room. No frogsss." CMS: "Anything E L S E?" CGG: ... CGG: ...Between everything E L S E happening I just don't have the time to contemplate such existential mysteries as my own existence and its validity. CMS: "Or I guesss you can ussse it. I don't know. I'm having a hard time processsing that I don't need to eat, let'sss be real. I'm kind of sssnappy. And not in the "catch the moussse" kind of way." CMS: "Which remindsss me, there'sss a R A T sssprite sssomewhere out there, ssso if I do get hungry, you have a M I S S I O N." CMS: "But thusss far I know game code doesssn't permit that." The sssprite makesss great effort to ssshrug but it looksss like an involuntary convulsssion. -- CURRENT galvinizedGlobalization CGG dull frog blinking and frog head-tilting. -- CGG: I am. N O T going to feed you another player's sprite. Come on, I raised you better than that didn't I? Or, the part of you that's still Lorey. Though the part of you that's me should have more manners than T H A T... CGG: ...Are you going to be okay? CMS: "Asss disssorienting asss it isss for you to be in a different body asss a frog, try to E M P A T H I Z E with me, I'm a sssnake-frog-npc. Jussst a bit ago I wasss a G U Y. Alssso a S N A K E. And a flassshy checkpoint thing. If you think you have it rough, try combining all thossse consssciousssnesssesss." CMS: ((snake-human-npc* apparently he's extra disoriented)) CGG: ...Again I am. R E A L L Y sorry. CMS: "Have you tried like... ssseeing if any of you have the power to essscape notice of the Corgisss and headlesss huntersss?" CMS: "Do you have a void player? Are you all good at ssstealth?" -- CURRENT galvinizedGlobalization CGG thinks it over. -- CMS: "Go find sssome hollow of fairiesss and asssk quessstionsss." CGG: There's more than one way out of the house... If we need to sneak away that may be feasible. CGG: They mentioned something about a curse, didn't they? Sourced to this land, would you know anything about that? CMS: "Yeah, I mean, check for plumbing and ssstuff. I have no idea how thisss worksss. Corgisss might be able to ssswim, but I have no idea about the headlesss thingsss." CMS: "You're a frog, aren't you? M E 2 . 0 ?" CMS: "Thisss isss freaky." CGG: I am a frog and I'm talking to the sum total of my pet snake, myself, and a game guide. CGG: There are headless figures riding corgis outside my house. CMS: "I feel like curssse isss pretty appropriate, then." CGG: I've becoming D E S E N S I T I Z E D to this sort of thing. CGG: So... CMS: "It'sss been like... Oh [ O M I T T E D ] I can't even wear a W A T C H !" CMS: "Anyway it hasssn't been that L O N G ." CMS: " If we get desssensssitized that quickly, we have T E R R I B L E coping ssskillsss. And letsss be real, we know that'sss the truth." CMS: The sssprite sssighsss, but it sssoundsss a bit like a hisss. CMS: "Are you feeling like you have no D I R E C T I O N ?" CGG: I'm not sure I would put it like T H A T... CGG: I know what we need to do. Go out there, explore, get to the bottom of this curse, fix or use it as appropriate, and P R O B A B L Y beat some kind of big B O S S. CGG: And deal with the complications along the path as they arise. That's how these sorts of things U S U A L L Y go, aren't they? CMS: "You've got a good handle on thisss. Mussst have been all thossse W O R L D T A K E O V E R plotsss we had." CGG: Well. Those didn't H U R T, but it was P R O B A B L Y the games more than anything! CMS: "Thossse memoriesss are G O N E, along with T H U M B S. God, I'm more bitter than a W A R H E A D C A N D Y. Dude, I will get over thisss." CMS: "Your team hasss the ability to do well. You have two time playersss, a light player, and a rage player. In addition to Y O U. You're pretty ssset up asss long asss people aren't afraid to try to come into their P O W E R." CGG: Is there anything Y O U could tell me about that? Those powers, I mean. CMS: "The bessst advice I can give isss to try to take your title asss many waysss asss posssible. Isss ssspace the cosssmosss? Isss ssspace the dissstance between thingsss? Isss ssspace sssomething that sssomething takesss up?" CMS: "Problematically, you're a page, ssso thingsss are ssstacked up againssst you. Jussst meansss you have to try extra hard. Think of it asss playing on the mossst D I F F I C U L T mode. But the payoff isss being sssuper awesssome later. If you make it." CGG: That's. CGG: The B E S T news I've heard all day! CMS: "Oh great, the sssnake part of me doesssn't underssstand S A R C A S M. Help me out, here. " CGG: It's not sarcasm! If the odds are stacked against my title but the payoff is that much greater for it it means my hard work will be rewarded and T H E N some, doesn't it? CMS: "That'sss what thisss weird knowledge isss telling me." CGG: I A L W A Y S play on the highest difficulty. If not at first, eventually. CMS: "Yeah, but remember, you haven't played thisss game B E F O R E. Make sssure your team hasss their witsss about them." CGG: ...Much easier said than done. CGG: But I'll figure something out. CMS: "Do we have any point and clicksss on that computer? I think I could play with my T A I L ." CGG: ...You don't remember? CGG: I mean. We D O. CMS: "Yeah... vaguely? But I alssso really briefly underssstood that Kirby wasss a point and click, and I feel thisss to be F A L S E. Mussst be sssome disssconnect between sssnake underssstanding and human underssstanding." CGG: I suppose... CGG: Just one more question, or clarification. You don't know anything else of note about the land? A N Y other sprite knowledge I might be able to glean? CMS: The sssprite bringsss itsss tail to itsss mouth in thought. "You know. It'sss weird, I feel like I know sssomething important, but I feel like if I sssay it I'll get D E L E T E D becaussse the game hatesss cheating." CGG: ... CGG: How is it C H E A T I N G if you're part C O N S T R U C T O F T H E G A M E?! CMS: "SSSomething about the ssstruggle of learning being C R U C I A L to your growth." CGG: Struggle of learning...? CMS: "I'm alssso part sssnake and part you. I K N O W we have usssed a gamessshark. C'mon now." CGG: N E V E R! CGG: The O N L Y means we've ever broken a game are its own N A T U R A L fuck-ups! CMS: The sssprite fwipsss itsss tongue. CMS: "Isss exploiting and cheating the sssame thing?" CMS: "SSSuch quandriesss in thisss universsse." -- CURRENT galvinizedGlobalization CGG vigorously shakes his frog head. -- CMS: "Well fine, go out and find the misssingno of LoPaP." CMS: "I don't give a ssshed." CGG: It's the difference between taking advantage of how multiple, often times seemingly useless features and using them in T A N D E M can produce better results than the sum of their parts. And jamming some cheaply made device in your system because you couldn't beat a boss. CGG: ...Are you S U R E you're me? CMS: "I'm alssso a sssnake." CMS: "A sssnake who can't video gamesss." CMS: "And sssnake wasss here firssst. It'sss probably reasssonable to sssay you're the sssmallessst part of me." CMS: "SSSo maybe I'm my own thing. Which isss refressshing." CMS: "Wasss getting frussstrated with the concept of living up to that." CGG: ...Okay. CGG: We are. O B V I O U S L Y two wholely divergant people. Which I S nice, I can't say I would fancy talking to a carbon copy of myself. CMS: "That would be annoying." CGG: Efficient, but... Yes. That. CMS: "Oh man, thisss isss much better. I don't have to keep trying to live up to expectationsss of exploitation. I'm jussst concerned with sssurvival. You ssshould be for a bit too." CMS: "At leassst until you've got a handle on the game mechanicsss." CGG: It's all I think of these days. CMS: "Oh great. We're on the sssame page" CMS: "Wait, doesss that make thisss more annoying or lesss." CMS: "SSSeriousssly, I think the combination with your cousssin'sss ceramic would have gone better." CMS: "What wasss your malfunction." CGG: ... CMS: "Heck, even killing your cousssin to ssstick her in would have been better." CGG: I assumed you would be a more present guide, traveling alongside us as we explored the land. And that your advice and guidance would be a more constant boon. CGG: And. Why the H E L L would I K I L L her?! CMS: "Asssumptionsss are cool. When they're informed." CMS: "W E L L Y O U D I E D T O M A K E M E . " CGG: ...Died? CMS: "W H A T D I D Y O U T H I N K W O U L D H A P P E N ?" CMS: "Yeah, you lossst a life." CMS: "You're on your lassst one." CGG: Well. I... CGG: ...I didn't D I E. I mean, Y O U didn't, you standing... CGG: ...F L O A T I N G right here, in front of me. CMS: "Yeah, but I'm now part game conssstruct. Which meansss if you messs up, itsss over. There'sss no way to redeem your sssecond life now becaussse you usssed it to ssstill be able to P L A Y." CMS: "The whole moonsss deal?" CMS: "Extra livesss, and ssside plotsss that sssomehow effect the game in a big way." CMS: "I feel like thisss isss obviousss, but I alssso have like, a blueprint of variousss game thingsss going on, ssso maybe it wasssn't obviousss to you. On the bright ssside, I'm teaching you sssomething." CGG: Always a silver lining. CGG: ...And uncomfortable irony. CMS: "Yeah. Well, I mean, jussst don't be recklesss. Apparently if you die in the game, you die in real life. Mossstly becaussse the game isss real life now." CGG: I knew T H A T much at least. I never had any intention of dying, anyway. CMS: "And yet here we are." CGG: D O E S N ' T count! CMS: "SSSaysss you!" CMS: "Tell that to the game code!" -- CURRENT galvinizedGlobalization CGG groans, which comes out as a croak. -- CAG ceased responding to memo. CGG: ...So. Two is the limit? CGG: Of things that can be thrown into a sprite, I mean? CMS: "Yep. Though I'm ssshowing that there'sss a way to undo a prototype, but it won't let me accesss inssstructionsss or more detailsss. Jussst being vague nonsssenssse code." CMS: "It'sss like a ssspoiler tag that won't click to expand." CMS: "And I doubt it would give you your life back." CMS: "It would jussst end thisss terrible exissstence. Don't get me wrong. Lorey isss the greatessst. I jussst don't think we were meant to bond on thisss level." CGG: I can imagine.... CGG: I can't make that a priority right now, anyway, there's too much E L S E to concern myself with at this stage. But I'll eventually try to investigate it further. CGG: Even if it can't fix this the information may be helpful. And if it C A N... CGG: Who knows? CMS: "Maybe. Don't be above asssking for help from ssstrangersss either. SSSome of them are nice." CMS: "I'll help asss long asss the code permitsss me. SSSo you can messsage my ssspriteHandle." CGG: Thanks. CGG: This... may come off as S E L F - A G G R A N D I Z I N G, and a small comfort in light of everything. But I'm glad someone as reliable as you is the one in charge of dispensing all this. CMS: "A little bit, but hey! I like praissse asss much asss the next Milo. Or sssnake. Really." CMS: "Living thing?" CMS: "That one." CGG: Any of the above. CGG: If I've got any other questions I'll let you know. Until then, the computer is yours, obviously, and I suppose I'll get to planning our expedition. CMS: "SSSuper!" CGG: Then B E S T of luck! -- CURRENT galvinizedGlobalization CGG hops on out of the room to parts unknown -- Category:Milo Category:Miloreysprite